Can you commit a double murder while asleep? Can the trauma cause your mind to shut down your body, sending you into a deep sleep? Is it possible that you could have murdered two people alone? Is there more to the story?... Read it!

A slightly out there premise made me a bit sceptical about whether I would enjoy this book however, I did!

I would have thought the book would be a bit heavy but the author writes in a short and succinct style that keeps you interested.

I started 'Anna O' and thought why had I left it so long in my TBR pile; the concept of sleep disorders was interesting. As was the reference to the most common types of dreams.
I didn't feel like I got to know the characters - they were just there in the capacity of their job roles. There were too many elements and in an attempt to create twists, it read as disjointed and confusing.
The book felt like it peaked too early and may have been better as a shorter version.
Thanks, NetGalley for an advance copy.

Anna O
Look, what can I say, this is going to be a lot of people's cup of tea. A clever premise, a murder allegedly committed while our chief protagonist was asleep. A sleep doctor balancing moral, ethical and work dilemmas in treatment of Anna and a classic whodunnit.

But, it's just not my thing. The way modern thrillers pull together the many threads of the plot at the very last minute really irritates me and this was no different.

If you like twisty, psychological thrillers I am going to guess you will enjoy this one.

Thanks to Netgalley, Harper Collins UK and Harper Fiction for approving me to read this. I had seen a lot of people reading this on bookstagram and was very excited to get this arc.

Anna O has been asleep for 4 years after murd 2 of her friends whilst in a sleep state. Dr Ben Prince is a sleep psychologist who has been tasked with trying to wake her. However, this case is not as straight forward as it seems, with secrets and lies that have been well hidden.

I’ll be honest I was really curious how interesting a book about someone being asleep would be, I worried it may be a bit slow and not a lot going on. However, the writer really managed to keep things interesting and hold my interest.

I really liked the psychological side, I felt like I was learning as well as reading, I found it fascinating reading about people doing things whilst sleep walking/in a sleeping state. It’s also a really thought provoking book, it would be great to be done as part of a buddy read as I think it provokes a lot of discussion points, namely is someone accountable for an act they commit whilst asleep? Can they be brought to trial over a cri if they weren’t fully conscious when they committed it? What are the implications of this? I think this would bring out some great discussions if you reading this as part of a book club or buddy read.

This book had a lot of twists and turns, secrets that were revealed that kept it interesting. It was told from multiple POV’s and the use of Anna’s diary entries, the chapters were short so that made it an easy read. My only slight criticism is I felt the last few chapters seemed to really drag out the story with information that I didn’t feel really needed to be in the book before getting to the final twist. They just felt a bit slow to me and I didn’t feel it needed some of those chapters.

Overall this really surprised me, it’s such a unique premise and I’ve not read a book like this before, I really enjoyed this and would definitely recommend it.

A much hyped literary thriller that will appeal to fans of While To Were Sleeping and other medical mysteries. However, the story was not for me, too much meandering in time lines and the ending a disappointment. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

Anna O was a whirlwind of a book. I could never guess what was going to happen and the whole book shocked me. At times I found the book a little far fetched but I still enjoyed it. I absolutely loved the concept and the plot, I was hooked from the first sentence. The book had my guessing loads of different scenarios and I couldn’t predict the direction of the book.

The story starts by introducing us to Dr Benedict Prince who is a forensic psychologist and an expert in sleep related homicides. He works in a clinic in Harley Street and helps people with their sleep problems. Anna O is a 25 year old who stabbed 2 people to death with no motive before closing her eyes and never opening them since. She has been brought to the clinic after 4 years of having resignation syndrome. It is up to Dr Prince to encourage Anna to open her eyes and discover the truth.

This story was a whirlwind and the pace was steady. It began to speed up after certain events and chapters were left on cliffhangers. I found myself to eager to read more and want to see if my guesses were correct (spoiler, they weren’t). I loved how the chapters were told from different perspectives and even got diary entry chapters from Anna leading up to the murders. It was interesting to read different points of view and try to put the puzzle together. I highly recommend this book if you liked The Silent Patient!

Oh my freaking god. What a novel! This thriller had you guessing until the end and even until it was revealed I never knew who patient x was. I really enjoyed the concept of the book, the short chapters and the diary extracts really kept the pacing spot on. Very enjoyable read

Regrettably, "Anna O" by Matthew Blake did not manage to capture my interest in a substantial manner. The narrative, to put it frankly, seemed to meander excessively, unfolding as if it were an academic textbook dedicated to the realm of sleep, replete with numerous references and an inundation of technical terminology. While undoubtedly informative, this surplus of information on the mechanics of sleep overshadowed what I had anticipated – a compelling and engaging storyline.
The emphasis on the intricacies of sleep, rather than on developing a gripping plot, left me feeling somewhat disillusioned. I found myself yearning for more narrative substance and a deeper exploration of the character's experiences and emotions. Unfortunately, Ben Prince, the central character, emerged as disappointingly sedate, lacking the dynamism necessary for a reader to form a genuine connection.
The novel's promising premise hinted at the potential for an intriguing tale, but the execution, in my estimation, fell flat. The disparity between expectation and reality left me with a sense of dissatisfaction, as the novel failed to deliver the immersive experience I had hoped for. While the technical details on sleep may appeal to some, for me, the overarching focus on this aspect overshadowed the potential for a richer and more emotionally resonant narrative. In essence, "Anna O" turned out to be a literary journey that did not align with my preferences, and I found it to be a rather lacklustre read.

A decent enough high-concept literary thriller that I'm sure lots of people will enjoy. Not quite as good as I was hoping for, if I'm totally honest, but others will no doubt love it, as the hype surrounding this novel would suggest.

'Was she guilty?' my date asks, or the woman who was formerly my date. I am nothing but a ghoul to her now, an anecdote for Christmas, or New Year. 'When she stabbed those two people. Did she really get away with murder?'

Anna Ogilvy has been asleep since August 2019 but her name is on everyone's lips.

Four years ago Anna was found asleep at an exclusive retreat called The Farm. She was in bloodstained clothes, holding a knife, and her the bodies of her two best friends lying next to her. She hasn't woken up since.

Those who believe she is innocent call her Anna 0, those who believe she is guilty call her Sleeping Beauty.

Anna O was a good concept and well executed on the whole. I didn't like any of the characters but I was interested in the mystery. However, I felt like the last third of the book I was rapidly losing interest in the outcome of the book. I felt like some of the later twists were a little implausible.

This book gripped me from page 1! Anna has been in a deep sleep for four years, after murdering her two friends in her sleep. Dr Ben Prince is a sleep psychologist challenged with waking her up, but the case of Sleeping Beauty isn't as straight forwards as it seems... This had twists and turns that actually (surprisingly) shocked me. I was not expecting the ending, though I wish the end was as fleshed out as the rest of the book. I still thoroughly enjoyed it. If you're looking for something with suspense and surprise, this is the book for you!

A unique thriller with a sleepwalking murderer at its core. A devastating event which has a massive impact on a number of lives and gains notoriety in the media. The question is, did she do it? Will Anna O ever wake? Will the mystery ever be solved? This book has plot twists at every corner that kept me hooked. Each time I thought I had it sussed, I ended up second guessing myself.

So many thought provoking questions and they just keep coming as the book continues. For me, the story raises questions on morality; culpability and more - some of which are still going through my mind. If you like a bit of a fast paced thriller then this is for you, it was certainly one I didn't want to put down.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this book feeling more optimistic than I probably should have. I saw it described as “Sleeping Beauty meets The Silent Patient” - which although sounds amazing in theory did not work for me in practice. I think one of the main problems for me where the characters; there is no way that the Deputy Minister for Justice would make a Harry Potter reference at work (or really anywhere in 2022, when this was written). The writing (and multiple more Harry Potter references), made this book feel dated and uncool in a way which I’m sure the author did not intend.

Now, the plot. Or lack of it really - this book was all over the place and very hard to follow for me personally. Everything is repetitively described in minute detail which led to an “all show, no tell” mystery that fell really flat for me. The writing style and plot were both incredibly repetitive, which led to me skipping pages and skim-reading just to get to the end, which was also all too predictable.

I loved the idea of this story but sadly I found it a bit long winded. It also wasn't completely clear when the story changed narrator/timeframe which I found confusing at points.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Arc review

Anna un-alived two people one night with no apparent motive. Anna hasn't woken up since...
Only Anna knows the truth of what happened that fateful night.
THE WORLD WILL KNOW HER NAME...

This book is known as The Silent Patient (which I haven't read yet,) meets sleeping beauty.

The author done alot of research for this book in relation to "resignation syndrome." (Sleep related crime's.)
This book for me wasn't gripping but it made me want to continue reading in order to find out what actually happened on the night she un-alived two people. I did find the book an interesting read for the psychology side of things.

Book contained short chapters and written in multiple POV which contain diary entries.
Overall 3.5 stars ⭐⭐⭐.✨

I want to thank the #NetGalley and publisher/author for this advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review. #AnnaO

Loved this thought the concept was unique and executed well, great tense thriller that had me gripped from the start!

This was an interesting book , loved the idea of it but I found it a bit slow in places at the beginning. I stuck with it and the tension grew gradually until the ending that I wasn’t expecting. I would recommend this book but it just wasn’t quite there for me .

Anna O is notorious as she is suspected of committing a double murder. The twist- she was asleep! Told through diary entries with the psychologist investigating this phenomenon.
This has such a hype but for me I didn’t really gel with it. I’m sad as it was such an exciting premise. That said my review is only one and I’m sure those that love it will outweigh those that don’t. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, as despite the fact that I do not often read mysteries or thrillers, I found myself drawn in by the story of Anna O, and wondering if she really did commit the crime she was accused of. I was interested in the sleep psychology aspect of things, and found it added a really fascinating element to the story. I would definitely recommend this book to any fans of psychology or mysteries, or just someone like myself, looking to try something completely new.